DVD reviews, more than five words

[warthog]

OK the five word format is a little restrictive for a boreass like me. Let's loosen up on the restriction a bit...

[warthog]

Gone in 60 Seconds

First of all, let me make something clear. Angelina Jolie doesn't get naked. If you're still interested in this movie, read on.

There were some cool chase scenes in this flick, especially in the beginning. Reminds you of classics like Bullitt or The French Connection. Of course, you would expect nothing less from a movie like this.

Nicholas Cage was as wooden as ever. Every time I see him in a movie, I can't shake the images of "Raising Arizona". I suppose other people don't maintain such a strong mental connection between this actor and his most successful early work. If you're one of those people you might get by his lack of depth.

Lack of depth is a good way to describe this film. The characters are all from the shallow end of the pool. This movie is about nothing more than hot cars and lots of them.

If you're looking for a brain dead movie that you can get up and go get a beer without hitting pause and without missing anything, this is a worthwhile rental.

[warthog]

The 13th Warrior

I'm of a mixed opinion on this one. At first I was thinking this is a ripoff of "Beowulf". But then I am reminded of a description I heard of a book called "Eaters of the Dead" and this is probably more like that book. I have read the former but not the latter (yet). This also reminds me of many other period sagas such as Heimskringla and Edda.

The casting seems dead on, EXCEPT the lead role played by Antonio Banderez (sp?). He is clearly latino, but playing a middle eastern character (probably from Iraq). I think the producers were looking for a recognizable face instead of casting the part with an actor of the correct ethnicity. This does detract somewhat from the film, and makes it a little harder to suspend your disbelief for the film. The supporting actors however were totally convincing in their roles and more than make up for the discrepancy.

The film was brilliant in making you believe along with the main characters that the antagonists were of a mystical nature. You really start to empathize with them, despite their strange customs and ethics.

Being a minor buff of Viking sagas this movie was an especially welcome change of pace for me from the typical dreck that Hollywood spews forth. I enjoyed this movie, and I'm glad to have this in my collection.

[warthog]

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

I just don't get it. This looks like any other campy karate movie out of China, only with a larger special FX budget. What's with all the flying and spiderman stuff? And just when you think you know what the plot is, you're wrong. I guess voting for it for the academy awards was the trendy thing to do, though. As far as I'm concerned, this was a waste of time.

[jaguar]

While i havne't seen the first 2 i *have* to comment on the thrid one ,as a veteran kung fu movie watcher (azn friends at school have me watching far to much anime too =) i have to say the whole crouching tiger thing made me laugh.

1: walking out of the moive some kids say 'what a crock people can't walk up walls', hes obviously never seen anyone who knows kung fu. (friend of mine can run 5m up an oak tree easy)

2: The ending, did it make sense to anyone?

3: The fight scenes, while they were pretty cool (particualry that one between the two chicks, that kicked ass) wern't all *that* good compared to others i've seen..

This was a case of hollywood 'discovering' this guy/moive, it had been around for ages before its hollywood debut.......ALthough it beat the usual hollywood crap 6x over with one hand tied behind its back. Understanding these movie requires an understand of the culture as much as anything else.

[serge]

Recently purchased the Poirot Movie Collection DVD, which was released last month I think. It was money well spent.. if you're a fan of the series (some or maybe all of these were shown at one time or another on PBS) I think you'll like the set. If you're new to the series I suggesting getting The ABC Murders or One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (or reading some of them).


Ya I know about Amazon.. but that page has a convinient list...

[vsp]

I enjoyed the hell out of CTHD, but I can attest that to get into it, you have to:

a) push your Suspension of Disbelief button REALLY hard

(i.e. you have to get on board with the Eastern-spiritual side of martial arts, that a person can train to control their body and do otherwise humanly-impossible things. Like float and flip and stand on treetops. You have to go in knowing that this is a tale of mysticism as much as swordplay.)

b) not be a real-stunt snob

(I say this as a Jackie Chan fan, thus being partial at heart to realistic stunts. [By realistic, I mean human bodies flying in realistic ways without wires, digital manipulation or excessive editing.] Jackie's movies are generally portrayed as real-world adventures, and its stunts go along with that. Something like CTHD or the Matrix is pure fantasy, and I'm cool with that. Not that I didn't hate the Matrix, but that was for the plot, not the stunts/computer effects. The stunts were obviously enhanced, but they were taking place in a fantasy world, for all practical purposes... apples and oranges.

Romeo Must Die, on the other hand, was somewhat ruined by having a real-world story and suddenly throwing in obviously computer-generated bodies-twisting-six-times-and-throwing-five-kicks-in-one-leap stunts. IMHO, of course. It's all about context.)

c) Aw, it's Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh. Who can't love it?

As for the ending, my take on it was this: She knew that her deepest wish (to live as she pleased, presumably with her desert lover) was not possible. She had this drilled into her throughout the film, but didn't really accept it until her actions inadvertantly caused the death of the one person who legitimately wanted to help her break out of her self-serving mindset.

So now what? She knew how badly she'd emotionally wounded her "sister" (both through her actions and from the end result) and knew how close she came to having her head cut off in the end. Going back to her family and returning to the aristocratic life was not an option in her mind, and yet they'd never stop coming after her. Her lover was waiting at the monastery, but along with the family issues, she knew just how badly she'd screwed up concerning Li Mu Bai -- going to Wudan to follow his teachings might've been possible before, but now how could she do it in good conscience, much less be accepted there?

She didn't fit into this world any more, at least in her teenage mindset. She's seen the dark side of the life she wanted to live, and seen how unhappy Yu Shu Lien (Yeoh) was in it, before and after Li's death. She knew she couldn't (or wouldn't) go back. What then to do?

Follow the one path that seemed to lead to her desires, both for a free life and (now) for redemption -- to take the leap-off-the-mountain-and-fly legend at face value, removing herself from this world and (hopefully) finding what she wished for in the next.

Or I could just be drunk on too much cough syrup.

jeff. not the first time on that